Anglo-Italian Cups

Initiated in 1969 as a contest for English and Italian league teams;
its primary objective was to reward Swindon Town, who had won the
English League Cup in 1969 but as a third division club were not
allowed to enter the
Fairs' Cup.
In the first seasons there were
two separate tournaments, one involving half a dozen teams from
either country and known as Gigi Peronace Memorial, the
other a direct playoff between the winners of the Coppa Italia
and the English League Cup (1969-71) or FA Cup (1975-76) and known
as Anglo-Italian League Cup.

Both tournaments disappeared after a handful of editions through lack
of interest and disciplinary problems surrounding the event.

Predating the Anglo-Italian Cup was a competition called the
Coppa Ottorino Barassi. This was between the winners of the
English Amateur Cup and the Italian Amateur Cup. After the
English Amateur Cup was abolished in 1974, the champions of the
Isthmian League Division 2 represented England (the Isthmian
League had produced all previous English representatives
except in 1969 and 1971). Simultaneous to this change (in 1975),
another competition was created, the
Anglo-Italian Semiprofessional Cup, which had the
Italian Semi-professional Cup
winners play the champions of the Isthmian League Division 1
(in 1975) and the FA Trophy winners (in 1976).

Both these tournaments disappeared when the
Gigi Peronace Memorial continued as a competition
between semi-professional teams from both countries in 1976. It
was held as such for about a decade until another interruption followed.
It was revived again in
1992/93 and played between minor full-professional sides, with finals
always played at Wembley Stadium, London. It seems to
have been abandoned again after four more editions.

(C) Copyright Giovanni Armillotta,
Josef Bobrowsky, Erik Garin, Tom Lewis,
Davide Rota, Karel Stokkermans and RSSSF 1999/2014
You are free to copy this document in whole or part provided that proper
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